Improvement in letter-locks



HORACE L. glirilsioma` or CHICAGO, ILLiNoIs."

Leners Patent ivo. 89,826, daad May 4,1869.

IMPROVEMENT iN LETTER-LOCKS;

t The Schedule referred to in-,these Letters Patent and making of the same.

To all whom 'it may concern l Be it knownthat I, HoRAoE L. ARNOLD, of the city ,of Chicago, inthe county of Cook, and State of l Illinois, have 'invented a new and useful.Improved Combination-Lock; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beingghad to the accompanying draw-` ings, which form part'of this specification, and Vin whichl f Y Figure 1 is a side elevation of' my improved combii nation-lock.

Figure 2, a vertical section.y Figure 4, a plan ofvone ofthe tumblers Figure o, a sectional view of the same. i

. The-same letters of reference refer to the corre' spondingpartsin the different gures.

i To enable those skilled in the art to make and' use my invention, I will proceed to `describe the same inv detail. x

f The nature of my invention consists in the peculiar means of retaining the bolt (34 in its seat in thebody l 1A, vand in the meansl of liretaining, releasing,and removing the bolt'and tnmblers from the body of the lock, when it isV desiredrto change the `combination which opens the lockthe wholebeing an improve-` ment upon the well-known letter-lock.

My improved combination-lock consists of the body A, the shackle B,.the bolt O,V the tnmblers J ,and the washer W, together with the spring E, and its abut-` ment F.

. The bodyA consists` of a web, carrying `two uprights, separated by a distance equal to the aggregate thickness of the tumblers J and the washers W. Said 'uprights are bored to receive the bolt C, as shown in the drawing, one of them being bored entirely through, and having the spline L, to permit the passage of the projection I `I on the bolt C,.and to .receive vthe projectionK upon C, for purposes hereinafter specified,

andV each `carry two lugs, one pair of which receives `the pivoted endof the shackle B, whiletheother pair u It consists of a cylindrical body, providedwith projections I I, which, when the tumblers are in lockingyposition, prevent its longitudinal movement, and with theprojection K, which, in conjunction with the i spline Lj in the frame A,.prevents` any rotary motion of O; further, the boltO is recessednear its outer end, in such manner as to receive the end of theI shackle B, and, so as to form a projection, y, which engages with the notch z in the shackle, as shown, 'and the bolt C extends beyond the recess for the shackle so far 'as `t'o protrude through the frame A,

` and the protruding portion is operated directly bythe hand, to unlock the lock,`while thesleuder portion left atthe bottom of the recess is so frail as to give way before the lock can be forced by blows delivered upon the exposed end of O.

The outwardv movement of spring E and its abutment F.

z It is necessary that the spring E should, for a reason hereinafter specified, move within Vthe bolt O at all times, as it istherefore retained in O, by having its inner coils enlarged. i v i The abutment Fis a driving t in its seat.

C is eiected by the The washer W fills the important oliceof fretain- -ing the bolt C in Vits seat in the frame A, when the lock is unlocked, and consists of a thin `disk-of metal, of a diameter equalto the greatest diameter of the tumblers, bored to t the bolt C, and splined to permit the passage of projections I I.

The washer W has also -a line upon its outside face. v When this :line coincides with Jthe line upon the body A, the washer W is in such position that'the `vprojections I I will pass through the spline in W, andi the boltO may be removedwholly or partly fromits lseat in A.

When the washer W is placed upon the bolt C C, having been previously passed through the upright,

and when C has been pushed as 'ar as possiblein-` ward, and W has been passed over allthe projectigns I I, then if the ywasher W be turned either-more or less thanone whole revolution upon O, the outermost ofthe projections I I will strike the washer W, and keep O in its place.

But if 4W is turned so as to bring its spline in line` f with the projections I I, the spring E will either throw the bolt wholly ont of its seat in the frame A, or so nearly out that it may readily be removed by the iingers; and upjon the removal of C, the Vtumblers J are free from the remainder of the lock, and may be rearranged to form different locking and unlocking combinations at` pleasure. v

Toavoid trouble in replacing the tumblers J upon the bolt O, the spring E is retained in itstseat in O,

as before described, and the abutment F is of such length as to stand alittle below the inner face of the i frame A. i .Y v

This method of construction givesfa lock-which is simpler, stronger, cheaper, and much more easily operated than letter-locks previously made, as well as more agreeable to the eye.

The tumblers J are made of -one piece of metal,

withu false notches, and are fully shown in thedrawings. l

he frameA and the washer W,'and the projectng ends are so formed that the two sidesof the lock have everywhere a similar outline, both in side andl endviews.

` Operation. i

TheV operation and manipulation of my improved lockare similar to the operation and manipulation oi the old letter-locks. A i To lock my lock, the ltrue notches i'n the tumblers must be brought to the `proper line, when the bolt may be pushed inward, either by the hand operating upon the projecting portion thereof, or by forcing the end of the shackle against it. As soon as the shackle is down to its seat, the spring E causes the projection y to engage with the notch z, and the turning of one` or more tumblers completes the locking.

To unlock my lock, the tumblers must be brought to the right number against the line on the frame, and the bolt pushed inward by the hand.

To change the combination, the lock is unlocked, and the washer W is turned until the line upon it coincides with the line upon .the frame, when the spring E will force the bolt out, which leaves the tumblers loose in the hand, and free to he rearranged upon the bolt O at the pleasure ofthe operator.

Witnesses:

ED. S.v BEAN, EBENEZER SPRAGUE. 

